Brest
Region

Stolin

Russian:Столин

Byelorussian:Столін

German:Stolin

Polish:Stolin

Hebrew:סטולין‎

Stolin is a town, 250 km east of Brest,
Belarus. It is the administrative center of one of the 16
districts in Brest Region. Its population is 12,500.
Stolin grew up at the heart of the Polesie
region on the Goryn (Haryn) River, at the crossroads of two
important routes, one leading northwards to Pinsk, the second
eastwards to Davyd-Gorodok and Turov, that are now in Belarus,
the third southwards to Sarny and Kiev, that are now in the
Ukraine.

The Belarusian-Ukrainian border is about 15 km away. Thus, Stolin is
now a border town that hosts many Ukrainians on the market days.
Russian speech is common here, but villagers prefer their
numerous dialects that are akin partly to Byelorussian, partly
the Ukrainian language.

Archaeological evidence suggests that the area which Stolin now
occupies, was settled as far back as the 12th century AD.
However, the
oldest available record about Stolin dates back to 1555. It was a thriving
trading center on the Goryn River, protected by a castle
that has not survive. The castle, being on the cliff-like steep
riverbank, was fortified by the river on the the
southern side and by moats on other sides. In the course of time
it was the residence of various nobility. In the 20th century
the moats were filled up. Today it is a part of the urban public
park in the town's center.

There are several legends regarding the
origin of the name "Stolin". One legend says that a group of
fishermen once cast their fishing nets into the river and pulled
out the nets with 100 tenches (a freshwater fish). To mark the
wonderful place, they called it Stolin, putting together 2
Russian words: "sto" (one hundred) and "lin" (tench).
Another legend refers to a ferry which sunk in the river. 100
men had to drag it out, using 100 ropes. Again 2 words could
have originated the name: "sto" (one hundred) and "lina"
(rope). The most probable legend narrates about
twelve brothers who once ruled the area and used to meet here to
discuss their affairs at table, and "Stolin" could derive from
the word "stol" (table). In Russian the adjective "stolny"
or the noun "stolitsa", both relating to a capital city, also
derived from the same word "stol".

Today's Central Square is close the place of the former market on the
river bank, where 3 roads meet: Goryn St. leading
to the railway station Goryn (5 km to the west), Pinsk St.
leading to Pinsk (60 km to the north), Sovietskaya St. leading
to Davyd Gorodok (40 km to the east).

There are two parks in Stolin. One in the
central part is relatively new and looks quite modern after the
reconstruction before Dozhynki 2008, the other park is much
older. It is located on the eastern outskirts of the town in
Mankovichy. it
was laid out by a very rich Lithuanian family of Radziwill in 1885.
A flamboyant summer residence was standing in the park with a
nice vista on the riverside from a steep bank. In the 1930s, the
family paved the road to the railway station in Goryn
and some streets in Stolin with "trylinka".

Once Stolin was lying along the Goryn
River. Today only the old park in Mankovichy lies on the Goryn River,
by the confluence of the Kopanets River, that is rather a creek.
As a mater of fact, this river was once the old course of the Goryn River. In the
course of time the Goryn shifted 2 km southwards.

The town occupies 11.2 sq. km.

This monument in the
Central Square commemorates the first record about Stolin dating
back to 1555

The panorama of the
southern side of the central square with the House of Culture in
the center. more

Here by the
Old Market the roads have been
intersecting for ages.

the House of
Culture was built in the 1960s and rebuilt in the1980s.

The panorama of
the northern side of the Central Square with the 2-storied bar
under a red roof (former department store). It was constructed
after the war. The buildings to the left of it were constructed
before the war and rebuilt after the war.

The bar in winter lures passers-by

The houses to
the right of the bar were constructed before the war. To the
left of the bar there is
a narrow street.

The view from
the narrow street. The Bar is to the right now and a prewar 2
storied house is on the left

The pre-war
residential 2-storied
building was rebuilt several times. A room in the ground floor was a bus station
in the 1950s. Later it was a private
photographer's shop that was quite rare in the days of Soviet
power. Now it houses an
insurance company.

The Bar is to
the left. Next down the street you see
the walls of oldest building in Stolin, the former synagogue, dating from the
late 18th century.

The panorama of
the Central Square, viewed from the western corner of Goryn St.
and Pinsk St. The 2-storied building houses a trading company.

This road,
running north of the square, is leading to Pinsk. A view
from the square close to a corner of Goryn St. and Pinsk St.
more

The prewar
structures at the corner of of Goryn St. and Pinsk St.

After the war (left) it was the telegraph
and telephone station of the district, (right) a post-office
till the 1990s.

This road,
viewed westwards from the Central Square, is
leading to Goryn and further to the Ukraine. The Russian church is seen at the
distance.

Pinsk Street
starts from the Central Square and runs northwards. It is
paved with massive "trylinka". The
pavement was laid in the 1930s, saw many troops marching along,
including German panzers and Soviet tanks,
yet it remained intact.

The new
bus station of Stolin is in the northern end of Pinsk Street

This is Sovetskaya Street.
It starts from the Central Square and is running on eastwards
to Davyd-Gorodok. more

the war
memorial at the entrance to the modern town's park

The monument
commemorates the liberation of Stolin in July 1944

The building of
district administration before its reconstruction
in 2008

Goryn Hotel
before the reconstruction in 2008

The department
store in Lenin Street before the reconstruction in 2008

In the city
park before the reconstruction in 2008. Today you will not see
the statue of a boy with a roe-deer.

The stadium in
the town's park before the reconstruction in 2008

The library for
children before the reconstruction in 2008. This old pre-war red
brick structure that was nicely decorated with wooden carvings,
was pulled down in 2008

The hospital in
the eastern part of the town

The entrance to
the old park of Mankovichy, the former summer residence of the
Radziwill's family, is at the end of the Sovietskaya Street.
A war memorial in the shape of the Soviet
gun commemorates the liberation of the town in July 1944

This park
alley saw better times. Once it was leading to a flamboyant
palace, a residence and pride of the Radziwill family. It was
standing high up in this old park on the steep river bank,
overlooking a wide river-plain. Unfortunately, this palace was destroyed at WW2, only
the stretch of the road paved with "trylinka"
(seen in the picture) once was leading to
the building. The ever first car that appeared in Stolin
belonged to the owners of that estate. To enable pleasant drives
around the town and trips to the nearest railway station of
Goryn (5 km west of Stolin), some roads were paved in
Stolin in the 1930s. Even today they are in use.

the foundation
stone of the park, that was laid out in 1885

this landmark
in winter looks enchanted

old trees of
the park enhance the view of the fairy-tale

winter fairy-tale
of the park

the central
park alley in winter

the local
museum
is today in the house, in the centre of the park

Museum's wonderful
presentation of the local flora and fauna

Many exhibits
are quite silent, yet they can narrate about horrors in the Nazi
occupied Stolin

Today the
nice scale model in the museum gives an idea about the former
palace that was destroyed at war. This residence hosted many
celebrities of Poland till 1939. Admission was closed for the
local population.